Harry plays down iPod impact

03 March 2009 04:44

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Harry Redknapp has insisted that Tottenham lost to Manchester United because his main penalty takers were not on the field, and has dismissed the importance of Ben Foster using an iPod as preparation.
Sunday's Carling Cup final at Wembley finished goalless before United ran out comfortable 4-1 winners in the shoot-out.
Foster saved Jamie O'Hara's spot-kick and David Bentley shot wide, while all four of United's players found the target.
Redknapp admits he was not confident of beating United on penalties, but feels it could have been a different story if his top strikers had been playing.
"The problem we had is that Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko would have been penalty takers," Redknapp told Sky Sports News.
"None of them were there so we weren't strong on penalty takers.
"I asked Luka Modric and he said the last time he took one he missed so he didn't feel confident.
"To be fair David Bentley wasn't (confident) but he stepped up and took one, so you have to give them credit.
"It can happen to anyone."
Foster's use of an iPod in the moments before the shoot-out has made the headlines but Redknapp does not believe it was a decisive factor.
He explained: "He didn't have an iPod for David Bentley's penalty because he hadn't taken one before.
"He didn't have an iPod for (Vedran) Corluka's penalty because he had never seen him take one.
"We make big stories out of these things. We knew where they were going to put their penalties but saving them is a different thing. Ryan Giggs hits one off the post so how are you going to save that?
"They had better penalty takers than we did, but we get carried away with
these stories.
"If I'd had Defoe, Keane and Pavlyuchenko I would have been confident."